gullane

Curtis Main - for his work rate. He seems stronger and faster than Moult.

Aye - but who's on the bench?

In my opinion, this is too simple a question. What exactly makes a team dirty? I don't believe we are any dirtier than the rest of the SPL. In recent years, I think as a team, we often collect additional yellows and reds through naivety and lack of street wiseness compared to our competitors. Dirty and cynical play takes many forms. Regardless of statistics, I have often witnessed opposition successfully play to a referees frailties through play acting, time wasting and covert aggression. In contrast, the challenges made by Bowman and Kipre in the final were replayed in slow motion from numerous angles over and over again, to negative analysis.

For those of you who weren't at the game, you will notice the amount of praise going to Rose, McHugh and Dunne. I have been one of the doubters for all three and have wished they could be dropped for either poor or anonymous performances. However last night all three put in a great shift and merit first pick for the cup tie at Dundee. I apologise to those who sit near me in The DC and heard my rants towards them, and negative comments posted here towards all three. The quality of their distribution is still an issue but their willingness to tackle and chase is to be admired. Rather than repeat what has been said already, I will add that Ciftci looks like increasingly like making a positive contribution. He clearly possesses talent and offers some creativity that is different to anything else we have. He appears to lack fitness and confidence but is showing signs of improvement. Some things don't always come off for him and his style will likely make him prone to greediness. However, I think if we persevere with him, he could make a significant difference between us and the rest of the bottom seven.

I can see where you are coming from with this. However I feel Kipre is gradually growing in confidence and competence. I wouldn't coach him into a new role just now. Is McHugh needing dropped or encouraged to boost his performance? He is a better player than what he has been of late. I acknowledge some fans are praising his work rate on here. If only he could pass.

Carson Kipre-Aldred-Dunne Tait-McHugh-Campbell-Frear Bigirimana Main-Ciftci Bigirimana needs to be given an opportunity to show what he's worth. He offers more creativity in the middle. Cadden doesn't look fit. MacLean and Newell on the bench for impact subs. Is Hartley fit?

As I expected, Kipre gets most votes. However I went for Dunne, purely because he is the centre back I was previously proposing should be dropped for Hartley, but has played well since Aldred arrived. Although he was one of the suspects who lost Doolan yesterday, his reading of the game and distribution were greatly improved.

I like this discussion on our midfield and agree with most comments. I think a top 6 place will be one by the team that wins most 50/50 tackles against similar standard opposition. For Motherwell, this will mean ditching a creative player for three battlers in the middle of the park - perm any three from McHugh, Campbell, Rose, Grimshaw, Bigirimana. If we play only two, we are liable to be out fought, and spend most games moaning at McHugh et al for wasting and losing possession. By limiting the number of creative players, this is going to mean the forward line will have to work hard. Main for one looks up for it. Ciftci took his goal well and could potentially create goals out of nothing a la Moult. One tactic that often puts the frighteners up SPL defences is pace - especially runners with the ball at their feet. We have Cadden, Frear, and the under used MacLean who if released from defensive duties, could pose more of a threat and feed Ciftci and Main. I don't think we have the personnel for silky, Cruyff/Neeskins, total football. But if SR can use the St J, Dundee and Kilmarnock games to get re-galvanize that battling spirit of our early season form, the results, if not the performances, should be more pleasing. "Get intae them" the battle cry.

Today is a day to put down to poor performances from a number of individuals. I'm amazed to come home and see positive comments about McHugh. The reason he needs to close down and break up opposition play so much is he keeps giving them the ball. (Was it his Maw who picked MOTM today?) Maybe Motherwell fans classify hard grafters like Colin O'Neill, Scott Leitch and Keith Lasley as great midfielders. But its passing, running and shooting we need to see more of from the middle of the park. Bigirimana must be wondering what he needs to do to get a start. Tanner's poor first touch and lack of pace today rendered him useless. Since Hendrie was ignored by his new team mates, then took a head knock, I think he should be excused. Two pluses I take from today. Ciftci lasted 90 minutes and broke his duck. Dunne put in a performance that was on a par with Aldred and Ciftci. I thought Archibald had Cadden sussed before kick off and he was completely nullified by the left back.

If fit, it would be good to give Cadden a start in a more forward position. Cadds on the right wing and Tait/Hendrie/Tanner on the left. Bigi should start in place of McHugh or Rose.

When MacLean came on a couple of weeks ago, he ran his socks off and got stuck in. He certainly offered more attacking threat than Petravicius - but that's not saying much. Could you have MacLean on the right and Tanner on the left?

My post on Stokes was largely tongue in cheek, but seeing as you seem to be in the know - what exactly has Stokes done to get him sacked by Hibs?

So what exactly would the risk be in signing Stokes til the end of the season?

I will be well chuffed to find Carson is still a Motherwell player at midnight tonight. But purely hypothetically, how would you feel if Celtic/Dundee deal fell through for Bain, Celtic came crawling back with a late £500k offer, and SR signed Cammy Bell on a short term deal to the end of the season?

No thanks. Recuperating Ciftci is enough of a challenge for SR. I think Stokes falls into the polishing turd category. As for Carson, the club's policy is attract players from lower English leagues here for regular first team football. If they perform, they then get the opportunity to progress to a bigger club and salary. Given the way Carson is performing this season, The Championship at least beckons for him.

If Celtic are the ones that need this move more than us, they should rightly pay above the odds. With the cash they've just bagged for Van Dyke, plus their willingness to splash out on Chelsea reserve players, we know they have money to burn. The ball is in their court.

OK, a Motherwell fan posting a comment on a Motherwell forum after a night on the lash, is likely to offer a view that may be prone to bias from a claret and amber perspective. However I think it needs to be said. Craig Levein is an arse hole. His failure to acknowledge it was a close game, and to say Willie Collum will be disappointed for failing to award two soft penalty claims just irks me almost as much as the draw pleases me. Thank God we have Stevie Robinson. He might not be Mourinho but at least he's not an arse hole. I'm off to bed now with a smile on my face.

I like the debate going on here about Dunne. I personally would drop him in favour of someone better at tackling and distribution. However, I acknowledge those who identify his pace and work rate make valid points. I also like the idea of dropping Kipre now and again, to see if it helps him iron out deficiencies in his decision making. It's good we have a choice to make now.

It's good to see both Alex Fisher and the club have made positive comments to the media. It's unfortunate circumstances and bad luck combined to prevent him making much impact at the club. I too wish him all the best. Perhaps one fluky rebound off his arse or shin into the back of the net will give him confidence to go on and score a barrel load.

I too favour this - Carson Kipre Hartley Aldred Cadds. Campbell McHugh Tait Tanner Main Ciftci Aldred put in a good shift on Wednesday - similar to Hartley. Could the two of them support Kipre to cut out some of his immature decisions? Tait is needed for his passing and crossing. Hearts recent performances are built around not conceding goals. Apparently they scored three against Accies through opposition errors. Cadden will probably have a more defensive role which will put our creative responsibilities on to the front three. One omission from this line up is Rose, who normally commands a start. Finally, who does SR bring on for tiring Main and Ciftci? Newell appears to be SR's choice but is injured. Sid offered sweet FA on Wednesday and Bowman/Fisher see persona non gratis now. Although he is not a forward, Mclean ran at the Ross Co defence - offered more of a threat than Sid.

Aldred put in a good performance against Ross County and is worthy of a start against Hearts. If Hartley returns, who would you have drop out in the back three - Dunne or Kipre? I personally would drop Dunne.

I felt Aldred's performance last night was like watching Hartley when he arrived. Good to see him talking to his team mates, putting a hard shift in and taking no chances when clearing. Early days but Main looks like a good signing. Apart from his finish, I thought he also showed willing to chase lost causes. Aren't public forums fascinating at times. McHugh simply looks out of form. His marking, distribution and decision making looked woeful last night. Yet some fellow Well fans think he had his best performance in ages. Each to their own and all that - but what positives did anyone actually see for McHugh last night?

Any word on his papers coming through? How is he looking in training? I hope he is not Belic mark 2.

I enjoyed the result, the second half performance and SR's post match interview. He is the first manager we have had in a while who is willing and able to alter strategy within a game. He took responsibility for picking Dunne who had flu, roasted the team at half time for all the wasteful long balls, then put Bigi on to provide added creativity. I think we need to keep our feet on the ground since this is a newly created squad. They will falter at times. However they are clearly an improvement on last year's side. Killie looked a class beneath us yesterday. Campbell, Kipre, Hartley, Bowman and Moult were great yesterday. After he scored, Bowman showed some touches that clearly came from someone with confidence. Like many, I can't see what SR sees in Rose to give him a start each game. However with Campbell and Grimshaw around, he will have to step up or accept the role of fringe player. I wonder if Tanner is in a similar position to Frear was last year. Frear looked out his depth when he first joined, but worked at developing his game. SR talks about having skilful players like Tanner in the squad, so I suspect we have still to see him reach his potential. Finally - Alan Campbell. In recent years, we have looked upon young talent such as Marc Fitzpatrick, Stuart Carswell and Jack Leitch, as our great hopes for the future. Sadly, where are they now? In contrast, I have seen enough of Alan Campbell's tenacity and tackling to suggest he just might be the real thing. He reminds me of a young Lasley,

Maybe it was useful for SR to have experienced building an Oldham side last year, and failing. He may well have learned a lot from Oldham. It's no easy task to ship out a near entire squad then recruit another. I like the fact he has purposefully gone out to recruit young, fit grafters, who are wanted to come to Motherwell. He is the first manager we have had in a while who seems able to alter tactics when plan A doesn't work. There is evidence that his half time team talks are effective as we have now seen dramatic changes in performances for some second halves. This squad are still coming together and there will be a few highs and lows over the coming weeks. However, I think there are clear signs SR has put together a side that can compete in the SPL and look capable of a top 6 finish. We can go to Easter Road next week with a bit of hope.